NEWSPAGE 16 October
2009

(Photos: New Zealand Defence Force)

NEW ZEALAND: HMNZS Canterbury offloads aid in Tonga

(Photos: Fritz Tuiavii)

SAMOA: Toa Samoa preparations underway in Cairns
Source: Tuilagi MS Esera

Toa Samoa's preparations for the opening match of the 2009 Pacific Nations Cup are well underway. The Team with the Samoan and New Zealand contingent and the Australia based NRL players arriving on Monday afternoon. Coach Willie Po Ching and the 3 UK-based players arrived on Tuesday morning. There are 18 players making up the side for the first up elimination match vs. the Cook Islands this Saturday 17th October at Barlow Park.

The team is in good spirits after a full on team meeting with Coach Po Ching on Wednesday morning where he congratulated the team for their selection and more importantly, challenged members “to step up and be proud to wear the Toa Samoa jersey and especially representing Samoa in this time of national grief with the recent Tsunami and national loss Samoa is facing.

Toa Samoa has been training well with runs at the Northern Pride grounds on Tuesday, and having their first team run yesterday at the Test Venue - Barlow Park.

The Fofoga o Samoa Community hosted the team on Tuesday evening with Lotu and a well prepared Dinner. As well as the church leaders from the Samoan churches in Cairns including the EFKS, Assembly of God and the Metotisi Samoa, the Faifeaus from the EFKS Pulega of greater Queensland were also present, as they were in Cairns for their annual retreat. It was a warm reception and a blessing and mea alofa were presented to Team Manager Mr Fritz Tuiavaii from the Fofoga o Samoa Mafutaga in Cairns and also from the EFKS Faifeaus from Queensland.

The Team for this first match vs. the Cook Islands include:

Players:
1. Kyle Stanley
2. Jack Afamasaga
3. Mark Taufua
4. Kylie Leulua’i
5. Joseph Paulo
6. Harrison Hansen
7. Tanielu Pasene
8. Misi Taulapapa
9. Peter Mata’utia
10. Patrick Ah Van
11. Tupu Ulufale
12. Tagi Ropati
13. Sam Tagataese
14. Phillip Leulua’i
15. Paul Chan Tung
16. Albert Talapeau
17. Mosada Iosefa
18. Terence Seuseu

Management:
19. Willie Po Ching - Coach
20. Fritz Tuiavii-Savaiinaea - Manager
21. Lauaki Fred Tuilagi - A/Coach
22. Nigel Vagana - Tech Advisor
23. Tuilagi MS Esera - Media/Commercial
24. Lance Thompson - Trainer
25. Lepai R Brown - Asst. Trainer
26. Daniel Lawson - Physiotherapist

Yesterday morning, Toa Samoa and the Cook Island Team attended a Mayoral Reception hosted by the Mayor and the City of Cairns. Community and Business leaders as well as the Pacific Island community were also present.

Photo Caption: Toa Samoa training at Barlow Park.
 

AMERICAN SAMOA: Disaster relief 2.0 for post-tsunami American Samoa
Source: One Economy Press Release

Yesterday, the post-Tsunami American Samoa relief effort is propelled into the 21st century with the launch of EmergencyZone.org, a central clearing house for disaster-related resources. Providing up-to-the-moment on-the-ground information and long-term recovery resources, EmergencyZone.org’s American Samoa Tsunami Web portal links survivors, relief workers, and the global community to immediate information to take action on improving their lives.

EmergencyZone.org provides information for people who need help and those who want to help. For people living in American Samoa, EmergencyZone.org provides a range of information for recovering from disaster—from how to navigate FEMA applications and locate contractors, to physical and mental health resources. The online portal is a central outlet for relief organizations working in the area to broadcast their programs to the community and to find local information for people they are helping. Those who want to help American Samoa can use EmergencyZone.org to quickly locate information about the various ways to support the recovery effort.

“Crises make local, relevant, and accurate information an urgent need,” says Rey Ramsey, CEO of One Economy, the global nonprofit powering EmergencyZone.org. “And crises make the chasm between those who have information and those who need it incredibly wide. EmergencyZone.org serves to bridge that chasm by allowing anyone to take action on improving their own life or the lives of those affected by the disaster.”

The EmergencyZone.org “Make It Easy Toolbox” widget is central to connecting people to disaster-related resources. This toolbox can be embedded on any Web site to spread awareness of vital recovery resources—providing the latest news, on-the-ground perspective, ways to help, and information on how to “react” and “recover” from the tsunami.

“Recovering from a tsunami is something none of us have done before,” says John Newton, a long-time resident of American Samoa. “There are so many resources; it’s just a matter of locating them and navigating how to get help. That’s why I’m excited to have EmergencyZone.org’s innovative Web portal available to American Samoa to help us find the resources we need.”

The 2009 American Samoa Tsunami EmergecyZone.org portal is online http://americansamoa2009.emergencyzone.org and on Twitter @EmergencyZone
 

FIJI: Flying the flag of multiculturism
Source: Fiji Daily Post

Every morning a different country’s flag is hoisted up the flagpole at The Learning Centre.

There, alongside the Fijian flag, it will fly for the rest of the day.

Meanwhile, inside the classrooms the students are busy learning about the importance of multiculturalism.

“The flags represent the identity of different individuals here at TLC,” said Principal Harold Kumar.

“We want to promote unity, peace, nation-building, love for all and hatred for none, and have a good understanding of other cultures,”

For Kumar, teaching his students about multiculturalism is a valuable life skill.

“It’s important because we are in a global village,” he said. “We must think and act globally.”

Georgia Ayers, a Grade 8 pupil at TLC, moved to Fiji with her parents ten years ago from New Zealand. Ayres, 13, said she’s always happy when the school flies her country’s flag.

“It reminds me of home,” she said.

Established in 1995, TLC has an enrolment of 130 students from countries such as Korea, Australia, Canada, Sri Lanka and Japan. The diverse student population is one of the school’s greatest strengths, Kumar said.

Instead of merely reading about other cultures, the pupils immerse themselves by celebrating the holidays. In the past, students hosted a Korean Day festival, a Fiji Day lovo and yesterday they were preparing for a Diwali night. .

Grade 8 Mary Tabe, 14, was busy making Diwali cards. The 14-year-old from the Solomon Islands has never participated in the Indian celebration of the lights.

“I don’t know anything about it, so I want to experience what it’s like to celebrate Diwali,” Tabe said.

Classmate Maree Ahearn, who has been celebrating Diwali for many years, is happy that her friends get to experience something new.

“We want to give them a better understanding of what it (Diwali) is all about,” Ahearn said. “It’s fun and it will bring other cultures together. It’s not just Indians who celebrate Diwali.”

More than 300 people are expected for the Diwali night, which features lights, food and fireworks donated by Lincoln Refrigeration Ltd.
 

(Photos: PITIC NZ / Air New Zealand / MPIA / Niue Chamber of Commerce)

NIUE: Spotlight on Niue businesses
Source: Pacific Islands Trade & Investment Commission NZ Press Release

Niue businesses will be in the spotlight with the arrival of the Air New Zealand Niue Return to Roots Business Exploratory Mission in Niue on 7 November 2009.

Ten Niue entrepreneurs are part of a group attending the Air New Zealand Niue Return to Roots Exploratory Business Mission on 7-14 November 2009.

The mission is a joint project led by the Pacific Islands Trade & Investment Commission NZ and the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs in association with the Niue Chamber of Commerce.

To celebrate, the Niue Chamber of Commerce has reinstated the Niue Business Awards 2009 and will introduce the mission delegates as special guests at the awards night on Saturday 7 November 2009.

The mission prime objective will be to identify and establish opportunities that will add value to existing businesses as well as look at productively utilising the capacity in Niue’s fishing, forestry, tourism and agricultural resources.

Mission delegates range from a variety of backgrounds from newer to well established business people in industries such as retail, property maintenance, building, plastering, plants and landscaping, marketing and health. Keen to meet their Niue counterparts, make connections but also to learn more about the business environment in Niue. A common thread of interest is in Niue tourism and its potential for the future.

Profiles include established manufacturing jeweller for 44 years John Kaulima interested in looking at Tourism, development and small business and export/importing. Relatively new to the retail outlet store Pacific Flava business owner Loine Pakieto whose gift store in Botany Downs sells a wide range of New Zealand and Pacific island jewellery, arts and gifts.

Meanwhile, Alex Talopau will journey to Niue. He and his wife, accountant Alva recently bought Pacific Foodtown in Glendene Auckland specialising in supplying the Pacific community in West Auckland with Pacific foods and other products.

Entrepreneur Edward Nee Nee of One Degree Pure (NZ) Ltd recently bought Rekareka brewery in the Cook Islands, but also has a well established business drainage business ‘Draintech’ since 1991.

The Health sector is represented by Pasifika Integrated Health Care Ltd, 2007 Pacific Business Trust Business Person of the Year, Dahlia Naepi of Pacifica Healthcare Limited.
Good interest was received from more than 20 Niue business people forwarding their expressions of interest and the delegation was finalised by a working group.

With more than 20,000 Niue people now living in New Zealand, Niue has struggled with a diminishing population various initiatives have been launched to encourage more Niue business entrepreneurs to build a bridge between the communities.

However, Premier Toke Talagi underlined the importance of developing closer relationships between NZ and Niue business people by hosting meetings in New Zealand within weeks of his election in 2008.

The mission continues the momentum started with the first visit by the New Zealand Governor General Anand Satyanand, who led an official delegation of young professional people to Niue in 2007. Mr Satyanand referred to Niue as ‘a truly memorable visit’.
 

(Photos: Diandra Jay, Press-Telegram)

WORLDWIDE: South Bay Samoan groups send 15 cargo containers
Source: Daily Breeze

Fifteen cargo containers full of donated relief supplies are on their way to Samoa by ship, and another 90,000 pounds of goods will be flown there on Saturday.

Local Samoan churches and nonprofit organizations have been gathering food, water and clothing ever since a tsunami devastated the islands on Sept. 29, killing more than 180.

The organizers initially planned to ship the goods to the Samoan Islands, which would take about two weeks. But congressional representatives succeeded in lobbying the State Department to provide an airlift.

The plane, a commercially owned DC-10, will leave Long Beach Airport on Saturday morning bound for Apia, the capital of the independent nation of Samoa. The plane can take 90,000 pounds of goods - about half of what has been collected so far.

Longshoremen spent much of Wednesday loading another 15 cargo containers of donated goods onto a ship, the Cap Tapagato, which will arrive in Samoa in a couple of weeks. The ship was provided by shipping firm ITS and the labor was donated by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.

South Bay Rep. Laura Richardson had earlier expressed frustration with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is responsible for disaster relief in American Samoa. Because the governor of American Samoa did not request the supplies, FEMA would not authorize an airlift.

Richardson and Rep. Eni Faleomavaega, who represents American Samoa in Congress, lobbied Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to authorize funding through the State Department. Clinton agreed, directing the U.S. Agency for International Development to charter a flight.

Since there will only be one flight, Faleomavaega advised that any further donations should be made in cash.

The American Red Cross collected cash donations but did not request supplies, citing the high cost of transportation.

The tsunami was triggered by a magnitude-8.0 undersea earthquake. It inundated the coastal areas of both American Samoa and the independent Samoa, leaving many people without shelter.

Another magnitude-6.0 earthquake struck near the Samoan Islands on Wednesday, but it was not strong enough to cause a tsunami.

Photo Captions:

Photo 1 - ILWU Local 13 representative, Joe "The Bulldog" Donato, tracks down one of fifteen containers loaded with relief supplies to be shipped to Western Samoa aboard Cap Tapaga, a 600-container ship docked at ITS (International Transportation Service, Inc.) terminal at Pier G at the Port of Long Beach on Wednesday, October 14, 2009. The relief supplies were comprised of mainly water along with clothing, food, and medical supplies collected by the community, and will be loaded by ILWU longshore crews on donated time.

Photo 2 - Cap Tapaga, a 600 container ship dock at ITS (International Transportation Service, Inc.) terminal at Pier G at the Port of Long Beach will be loaded with 15 containers filled with relief supplies headed for Western Samoa on Wednesday, October 14, 2009.